This is an interesting argument, coming from Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), health care reform skeptic, and the Blue Dogs’ point man on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“I don’t know whose decision it was to put cap-and-trade first, but it was a huge mistake,” Ross said. “It’s a divisive issue. I felt like we had the opportunity to do one thing before the August recess . . . and everybody agrees we need to reform health care.”
But Ross voted no on the Waxman-Markey bill, and his arguments about health care reform have not, until now, been chiefly about the number of risky votes he and other conservative Democrats have been asked to take. This argument would make more sense coming from a vulnerable freshman or sophomore who voted for cap-and-trade legislation than from a Blue Dog leader.
